The Skinny on Curly Hair Care

Hair Stylist: Diana Lucia

Calling all curls! Sun, chlorine, and salt water might be doing damage to your lovely locks as we enjoy the last bits of summer, but it’s never too late to counteract those forces with some curly-hair-focused love.

If your hair leans towards waves, curls, or kinks, you probably already know that moisture is your hair’s BFF. Yet many of the products marketed to curly hair contain ingredients that do anything but moisturize. To get the low-down on the best possible care for wavy locks—this summer and always—we talked to Leonor Greyl’s National Educator Kat Savano. She gave us the scoop on how to transform dry, frizzy tresses into hydrated, bouncy, shiny curls in four steps: cleanse, condition, style, and hold.

Cleanse

The keys to cleansing curly hair are moisture and avoiding sulfates in your products. Savano’s go-to Leonor Greyl shampoo for curls is the Crème aux Fleurs cleansing cream, which can be used as either a daily cleanser or a treatment. Ideal for everything from wavy to kinky hair, it is loaded with moisture and hydrates while it cleans. Savano says, “This is one of the most amazing products in the Leonor Greyl line. If there is one product every curly-haired beauty needs in their hair-care repertoire, Crème aux Fleurs is it.” Another of her favorites, Shampooing Crème Moelle de Bambou, helps with curl formation and frizz control, creating softer and more manageable locks.

Pro tip: Rather than cleansing your curls every day, alternate with simply rinsing hair and conditioning it.

Condition

Masque à l’Orchidée is Savano’s choice for hydration for all types of curly hair. A versatile pre-shampoo treatment with orchid extract and botanical oils, it can be applied over L’Huile de Leonor Greyl on dry hair, or you can start with the oil, add the Crème aux Fleurs from the scalp through mid-strands, and then apply the Masque à l’Orchidée over both and leave the mixture in for 20 minutes before rinsing. Spraying wet tresses with Lait Luminescence after shampooing preps hair for styling products, as well as detangling and adding shine.

Pro tip: Savano loves to use L’Huile de Leonor Greyl all year round, but especially during summer, when it protects hair from UVA and UVB rays, chlorine, and salt. She suggests using it overnight and shampooing it out in the morning, braiding it into your hair, or even creating a topknot or chignon with it in, to maximize its effectiveness.

Style

Once your wet hair is comfortably ensconced in the Lait Luminescence after showering, Savano suggests a concoction of either Mousse au Lotus Volumatrice and Éclat Naturel styling cream, or Gel à l’Hibiscus and Éclat Naturel. The choice of mousse or gel depends on the control you need, and the texture of your curls. Mix the two in your hands and apply so every strand of hair is coated. If your curl formation is uneven, use finger-twists to create more curl where needed.

If you are going to air dry, gently squeeze out some of the moisture with a towel without roughing up the hair. You can also diffuse your curls halfway or completely dry—the more you do the bouncier your curls will be.

Pro tip: The most important thing for styling curly hair is putting product on the hair before towel-drying or putting it in a turban, to avoid getting more frizz.

Hold

Savano loves two Leonor Greyl finishing products that can also be used to refresh and revive curls: Algues et Fleurs curl-enhancing spray and Tonique Hydratant hydrating and vitalizing mist. Algues et Fleurs’ seaweed and flower extracts condition and promote bounce and shine, while Savano calls Tonique Hydratant “Evian for the hair,” with its moisturizing and strengthening seaweed extracts and amino acids.

Pro tip: if you need shine after your hair is dry, Huile Secret de Beauté can be misted on your curls. A multitasking oil for both skin and hair, it can be left in hair as a styling oil without weighing it down.

So now you know—carry on with summer fun, but give those curls the care they need to keep you looking radiant!

And if your curls are hiding under blowouts, Keratin treatments, and straightening but you’d like to transition back to your hair’s natural state, Savano advises patience. “It will take a few months of using the curly-girl method to get your hair back to its beautiful natural curls. Don’t give up—the process will work and it will be amazing because it is so healthy for the hair.”

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